BRUTUS Watch Brand Studies Vol.42〈FP Journe〉

A genius watchmaker who creates unique mechanisms

It is not a widely known name, but many avid watch enthusiasts are in awe of the brand name FP Journe and its leading watchmaker, François-Paul Journe. Journe was born in Marseille, France, and graduated from the Ecole d'Horlogerie de Paris. While working at his uncle's watch workshop, restoring historical timepieces such as pocket watches, he became a genius who completed his first work, a tourbillon pocket watch, in 1982. After opening a workshop in Paris in 1985 and in Switzerland three years later, he has provided numerous brands with complicated mechanisms. In 1999, he founded FP Journe in Geneva, Switzerland.

First, he attracted attention by being the first to combine a mechanism called a remontoire, which powers a watch with a constant torque, with a tourbillon in a wristwatch, and then in 2000 he completed the "Chronometer Resonance," which achieves high precision by housing two movements that share a power source in a case and resonating the balance. By recreating the legendary resonance mechanism that had existed only in a few grandfather clocks and pocket watches, his name and brand name became instantly known among watch enthusiasts.

He designs and assembles all of his movements himself, including those with complex mechanisms such as chronographs, minute repeaters, and perpetual calendars, as well as those with simple two-hand and small seconds movements, all of which incorporate unique mechanisms. He also has the facilities to manufacture these parts, dials, and cases in-house, and despite being a small atelier, his in-house production rate is one of the highest in Switzerland.

It is also a rare watch in that, with the exception of a few sports watches, almost all of its movements are made of gold, following the example of high-end pocket watch movements. The words "Invenit et Fecit" (invented and created) engraved on the dial are a sign of confidence and pride. FP Journe is always innovative and original.

[Signature: Masterpiece] Chronometer Resonance

High-precision mechanism that applies the resonance principle

The two oscillators, which are physically very close to each other, synchronize at the same natural frequency. This is FP Journe's masterpiece, which was the first to realize the principle of resonance, discovered in the 17th century, in a wristwatch. The two movements hidden within the case can each display different times, and can also function as two time zones.

Since its introduction in 2000, the watch has undergone several improvements, with the current model being released in 2020. One of the dials displays the 24-hour time, allowing travelers abroad to distinguish between day and night in Japan. Between the two dials, you can see the differential gear that distributes power in two directions from the barrel housing the shared mainspring.

42mm diameter. Manual winding. Platinum case. Price upon request.

[New: New release] FFC

An automaton counting down the current time

A giant hand on the dial changes the number and position of its outstretched fingers every hour to show the current time. The minutes are shown by a triangular indicator that moves along the outer edge of the dial, and the shape of the fingers changes the instant it reaches 60.

This highly original mechanism was born from a question posed by film director Francis Ford Coppola: "Has there ever been a clock in the past that showed the time like counting with your fingers?" The motif of the hand that shows the time is hand-carved based on the design of a 16th-century prosthetic hand.

Diameter 42mm. Automatic. Pt case. Price upon request.